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VT5 20-Week Results are In!

October 30, 2012 by 4 Comments

The 20-week VT5 competition ended a few weeks ago and we’ve got the results for you here today. Some people continued changing their shape getting even close to their VI numbers, while others proved that once you get there you can indeed maintain your 12-week change and turn it into a lifestyle for the long term.

The judging for this round was taken as an overall change for the entire 20-weeks (separate of the 12 week change). So you might see some familiar faces but some different placings for those same people. With that said, everyone who stuck it out for 20 weeks is a winner regardless!

Here are the 20-week transformation winners!

Liss Graham – 1st Place VT5 20-Week Transformation contest

 

Liss Graham starting 20 weeks ago on the right, 12 week transformation middle, 20 week on the right.

 

Suzy Johnston – 2nd Place VT5 20-Week Transformation contest

Suzy Johnston 20 weeks ago on the left, 12 week transformation middle, 20 week transformation on right

 

Teresa Shaner – 3rd Place VT5 20-Week Transformation contest

Teresa Shaner 20 weeks ago on the left, 12 week transformation middle, 20 week transformation right

April Harkness – 4th Place VT5 20-Week Transformation contest

 

April Harkness 20 weeks ago on left, 12 week transformation middle, 20 week transformation right

Jannette Joly – 5th Place VT5 20-Week Transformation contest

 

Jannette Joly 20 weeks ago left, 20 week transformation right. She actually made a 12 week transformation that we missed getting, but she’s stayed in Venus shape since then!

 

Each of these women took on the challenge of transforming their body at the 12 week point and continued on to the 20 week mark. As you can see the Venus look is attainable in as little as 12 weeks and even more important it’s possible to maintain that look after you transform.

You’re all BEAUTIFUL!

 

John

Filed Under: Contest, transformation Tagged With: ,

How Clear Is Your Purpose?

October 26, 2012 by 6 Comments


“A person with a clear purpose will make progress on even the roughest road. A person with no purpose will make no progress even on the smoothest road.” –Thomas Carlyle

Be Ambitious

Part of goal setting is deciding what you want and then having enough ambition to take steps to fulfill your purpose.  People who avoid failure are more focused on protecting themselves from failure or the embarrassment of not completing the steps.  On the other end of the spectrum is over ambition, setting unattainable or highly improbable goals, or trying to take risky short cuts to achieve over aggressive goals.  In the middle are achievers who have a strong desire to accomplish things important or gain success from difficult tasks.   Where do you fall in this spectrum?

In my last article I wrote about moving forward after mistakes.  It’s hard right after making mistakes to keep going.  Sometimes it requires a short period to reflect and regroup.  Being fearful can cause you to procrastinate, give less effort, or even self-sabotage (FYI John Barban talks about self-sabotage in the Anything Goes Diet).

Have you ever found yourself in a diet yo-yo?  If so, you probably have a sabotage point somewhere near the bottom of the yo-yo and this is important to recognize so you can move forward or as John says “instead of backing up go full steam ahead so that you never see that number again”.  I like that.  Full steam ahead!

Sometimes It Takes Longer

Just like anything else in life sometimes things take longer than you’d like.   About 15 years ago I’d gone through the police academy with my husband and applied for a job with the Sheriff’s department the same time he did.  The process to get hired in law enforcement is especially strict in California and only 1 out of 50 pass the full battery of tests.

During the evaluation process at the very end (after five months of testing and extensive background tests) right at the point before they hand you the acceptance letter I learned that I did not pass.   This failure was devastating to me.  I had to regroup and be happy for my husband who did pass and give him my full support for the career he was starting.  I had to accept that the time was not right for me.

Life is not always fair.

As I motored on with my life and retired from my software engineering job I’d realized how far I’d come in dealing with some personal issues.  I had a feeling I’d finally faced enough of the issues that I might pass the law enforcement hiring processes if I tried again.

But my academy certificates had expired and I had to start the police academy again from the very beginning.  This was daunting because the academy is like a mini boot camp chalk full of tests.  If you fail any one test you get one chance for remediation and then if you don’t pass you are kicked out.  This happens even if it’s the last test on the last day of class; all is lost.  Looming overhead after the academy graduation were another six months of hiring tests and still the one testing at the end that could be my sabotage point.

I moved forward, full steam ahead, and graduated from the academy with higher honors compared to the first time through. I faced the interview at the end with the very same doctor that failed me the first time.  It was actually a fun interview and I had a feeling I would pass but I had to wait two weeks until I received the answer.

I passed!

It was a huge victory for me.  It meant I had dealt with some serious issues in my life and won.  I defeated the failure I’d carried around for ten years.   I got the acceptance letter and the honor of wearing the badge and serving my community.  To this day I’m extremely proud when I put on that uniform and strap on all that gear because I know how much I had to overcome to get to that point.

You Can View It as a Challenge

You might have a similar daunting road ahead of you with weight loss or a situation in your life that you want to change.  You can view it as a challenge or a threat that leads to embarrassment of failure.  You can associate effort on the demanding tasks with dedication, commitment, and involvement or view it as overloading and stressful.  The choice for your mindset is yours.

What will you do?

On the other hand you can become over ambitious and set too high a goal or an unrealistic goal.  You might then try to take short cuts to get there.  Some of us do that with eating too low to try and make weight loss happen faster and it ends up backfiring.  Sometimes all you really need to do is practice for a while until you have enough skill to know how to set an appropriate goal for yourself.

You Can Adjust Your Goals

You can always change your goals as you move along.  I changed my goals several times after joining the Venus Index community.  When I started my weight loss journey my only goal was to get down to a size 8 because that was the smallest I’d ever been as an adult.  Then I changed my goals to match the Venus Index “Golden Ratio” metrics.

As I continued to lose weight I got down to a size 2-4 and got frustrated because I could not seem to get my waist down to the golden ideal.

It took me a long time to realize that I really don’t need to worry about it.  I became fit and lean and I have a thick torso because of my years of heavy lifting.  I needed to know that my waist wasn’t fat and the DEXA scan gave me that.   The data showed that the bulk of my 11% body fat is in my arms and upper legs and that my abdominal area was 0% body fat.  So I finally learned to accept the fact that this is how I am, this is the shape of my body, and it is okay.  So I have learned to maintain my shape by looking in the mirror and how my clothes fit.  It’s freedom to not have to rely on the scale or other metrics anymore.

Pick Realistic Goals

I would like to have a thinner waist but it would mean giving up heavy lifting and abdominal work which I love.  For now I choose to maintain right where I am.  At any time in the future I can change my goals again if I want to.  First I would research to find out if it is a realistic goal and then I would take whatever steps are necessary to achieve it.

How Clear Is Your Purpose?

 

Tips for Goal Setting:

  • Decide what you want
  • Start small but keep going
  • Believe in yourself
  • Write down your goals
  • Set small goals and accomplish them
  • Do everything you can to stop procrastinating
  • Dream big
  • Set up your environment for success
  • Set long term goals and short term goals (with realistic time frames)
  • Don’t make a big deal out of each mistake
  • Research to find out if your goal is attainable
  • Adjust goals as needed
  • Get the right tools
  • Enjoy the journey
  • Plan ahead
  • Ask advice from people you respect (even if you don’t like them)
  • Give yourself rewards for achievements (not food)

 

Clarify your goals

It’s important to know where you operate in the ambition spectrum so you can make necessary changes. If you are over ambitious what steps do you need to take?

If you procrastinate or self-sabotage what steps do you need to take?  Is your goal realistic?  These are things you can think about as you move forward in your journey. You can adjust your goals as you move along.

Once you set your goals, determine the steps you need to take, have fun and enjoy the journey.

 

It is never too late to follow your dreams!

-Ro

Filed Under: Bodyfat, cardio, change, Diet, Exercise, fat loss, psychology, Shape, stress, Uncategorized, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , ,

Age Well Into Your Golden Years with the Venus Index

October 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Here’s the first part of this month’s UNCENSORED Podcasts Season 2.

Today’s topic: Aging.

This is a follow-up to this month earlier podcast about Silo Science, if you haven’t heard it yet, you can listen to it here: The Truth about Silo Science and Research Misinterpretation You See Online

Everyone ages, but the question is how WELL will YOU age?

Today John Barban and Brad Pilon discuss why Venus Index is the only metric you really need to pay attention throughout your life.

It answers the fundamental questions “How do I know I’m doing okay?“.

You don’t have to worry about healthy foods, cardio or any sort of the conventional stuff and just hoping it will make you healthier and help you live longer.

When we age, most of us experience  a decline in testosterone production. And since testosterone is linked to vitality, it’s something we definitely need to pay attention (and yes this applies to women too, testosterone isn’t just men’s hormone).

Several benefits of testosterone include positive impact on depression, joint health, bone density and it also works as a prevention for certain diseases.

Testosterone plays a key role in our lives, in both men and women. If you have a feeling like your life sucks right now, it can actually be that you have low testosterone, so it might be worth getting it checked and if necessary getting a therapy.

Today we will be discussing how big of a role this hormone plays in your body and how much it affects your day to day life.

We will also talk about how famous research studies’ are often misquoted in fitness media. Lastly, we will answer the question of whether testosterone has to naturally decline or can it be prevented?

After listening to the podcast you will have a clear view of the role testosterone plays in your body, you will have metrics for measuring how well you age and you will also be able to answer these questions:

  • Data from the studies come from a small group of people [yes or no]
  • How well we age is not in fact related to testosterone [yes or no]
  • Leanness and muscle mass in combination is great sign of aging well  [yes or no]
  • Large volume of food at one sitting decreases testosterone  [yes or no]
  • Weight training doesn’t help maintain testosterone levels  [yes or no]
  • There are more things besides training, eating less and maintaining the ideal shape that can help you age well [yes or no]
  • Caring extra fat is just a matter of not looking your best, it’s not dangerous [yes or no]
  • Bulking can work for everyone [yes or no]
  • Testosterone is a healthy thing to inject into your body[yes or no]
  • Anyone can get back in shape [yes or no]
  • Drop in testosterone is directly causing depression and the lack of the youthful feeling [yes or no]

IMMERSION Clients May Login and Download Podcast Here

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Filed Under: Podcast, Uncensored Podcasts S02 Tagged With: , ,

Making the Mona Lisa Smile

October 5, 2012 by 8 Comments

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da VinciDoes Mona Lisa Smile For You?

Confession time. When I first learned that the famous Mona Lisa was smiling, I was surprised. Maybe this will sound odd to some, but I’d honestly never perceived her expression as happy when I was growing up. Now, obviously, this statement reveals more about my childhood than it does about the Mona Lisa.

Growing up as a latch-key child with an emotionally absent alcoholic father and a physically absent mother doesn’t do a whole lot for creating an atmosphere of joy. So yes. I totally missed that she was smiling.

The Creation of Happiness

I am happy to report that she does indeed smile for me now, but sometimes it’s work; sometimes I need to consciously fish around in my mental storage bin for my virtual rose colored glasses.

I accept responsibility for my emotions now but with that responsibility comes the requirement that I study and learn techniques that might be obvious to those with a solid foundation in early childhood happiness. It’s one of the reasons I strive to create as full and happy a childhood for my children as I can; perhaps they won’t have to work as hard as I sometimes do to create happiness.

Love and Accept Your Body Before You Transform

You may be wondering what all this jibber-jabber about art and attitude has to do with transformation so bear with me while we take a little journey.

One of my early active steps towards my transformation was plunking down a wad of virtual cash for an eBook. I’m not a relic but it took me some years to come to terms with my failure to transform on my own and be willing to part with cold hard cash for something seemingly intangible.

I eagerly “ripped open” my shiny new transformation program, only to be hit with a lecture and some airy-fairy exercise on loving my body. Now while I’m as airy-fairy as the next person, the guy who wrote this particular program wasn’t. I’d been watching his videos online and had even met him. I know one thing and that is that he had no business trying to get all woo woo on me.

However, I put that aside and went on with the exercise. (And by exercise, I mean writing crap on paper, lest you think I was doing something physical.) As expected, it fell flat. I’ve done intensive personal growth seminars and made great positive strides. Sitting with a piece of paper doing some contrived mental exercise wasn’t going to do a darned thing for my belly fat. In losing faith in the exercise, I lost faith in the program.

This dude and the mainstream fitness mafia can pile on all the guilt in the world that I have to lurve my body and accept as it is before I can successfully transform. I call bullsh*t.

In hindsight, I’m so glad I did! I stand by my conviction that anyone who pretends to hold expertise outside their actual field of expertise loses all credibility with me. And in giving up on this program, I was able to continue seeking out the answers and ultimately find my way here to Venus Index where information is research based.

I Hated My Body and Transformed Anyway

This may be a hard pill to swallow but when I finally began the successful stage of my transformation journey, it was without feelings of love towards my body shape and size. I was quite clear about who I am as a person and that I am a person of character, and I am also clearly blessed to be gifted with a functioning body complete with working parts, but at the same time, I was hiding my body away by choice to avoid humiliation. This was not who I was. In avoiding social situations, I was depriving both myself and my children of a chief source of joy in life.

It turns out, there’s research to back me up on this; it turns out that depressive episodes are strongly linked to excess adipose tissue and inflammation.

Online Socializing is a Poor Substitute for the Real Thing

Realizing that I was doing us all a big disservice was one of the driving forces behind my successful transformation. I wanted joy for us and I wanted to be comfortable enough in my own skin to be pleasant around other people. The bulk of my socializing had moved to online. Many studies are saying this is a good thing but it’s interesting that the timing coincides with the obesity epidemic. Perhaps others hide away for reasons similar to my own?

One of the reasons winning a transformation contest was attractive to me is that it involves a clear deadline. The focus I’d be putting into the necessary work would soon come to an end and I could move to the next leg of the journey. The whole point of the exercise was to create more joy in our lives. With that in mind, you can bet I became a student of maintenance early on in the journey; every tool I added to my toolkit got stored away for use at any future time. I regularly rotate through these tools now.

Creating Joy

Would it surprise you to learn that once I reached my goal, I wasn’t actually completely happy all the time? Some of this had to do with having been hit with a few extreme life challenges and still doing internal work to ascertain what my part I’d played and how I could grow from the experiences and move on with my life. But the bulk of my failure to feel happy more of the time was just due to still not knowing how to be happy.

Enter Transformation as an Ongoing Journey

It was at that point in my personal journey that I realized that simply achieving the physical body I’d always dreamed of was not going to be the biggest achievement of my life, nor should it be. (Perhaps that sounds silly but I went for it with that much tenacity.)  There are so many things I am capable of doing and that bring me joy. I found myself energized by the open book my life had suddenly become at the age of 47. I find myself more able to be the parent I wanted to be, but also wanting to return to my personal life journey that had been put on hold during my earlier years of parenting.

Sometimes, it’s overwhelming. There are so many ways in which I’d like to improve and they simply cannot all happen immediately. And in fact, it is not possible to ever achieve the level of success that I dream of in all endeavors simultaneously. This is an area in which I am learning to shift my thinking. I am choosing a few priorities and setting goals. I used to set too many goals and fail across the board. Now I strive to set what I call “mini-missions” that I am sure to complete and get a feeling of accomplishment that propels me to further success.

Stop and Savor the Espresso

What makes even small successes worthwhile is consciously thinking about them. I am tired of missing out on the joy as if I move about head down with blinders, getting it done but not enjoying the process. There is joy in the process!

One way in which I keep being able to enjoy the success of maintaining my Venus body shape and size is by having just an espresso for breakfast whenever the mood strikes me. I’ve learned from Brad Pilon that breakfast is not a requirement and that if you stop and listen and find you’re not hungry, there is simply no reason to eat. But I still pop out of bed eager for that espresso! In fact, the last thought before my head hits the pillow is tomorrow morning, I get to have an espresso! Along with this simple ritual comes a reflective morning peace that might lead to a bit of weeding in the garden or reading in the morning sun.

Creating my Happy

As life constantly changes, so must one work at the formula for creating happy today. I use many techniques, most of which you’ve likely heard of. Here are a few techniques I cycle through:

  • Take time regularly to be truly grateful for things. Get creative on this one so it is not done by rote.
  • Truly connect with people. I mean in person. Yes, even you introverts. Make some eye contact!
  • Get present and simply remind yourself to enjoy the moment.
  • Unplug completely on a regular basis.
  • Get out in nature.
  • Pay it forward: help someone with no strings attached. Or do volunteer work.
  • Declutter and simplify.
  • Keep up with chores.
  • Feed your mind daily with interesting and challenging new information.
  • Put an event on your calendar. Simply anticipating it will bring you untold hours of joy!
  • Feed  your soul with worthwhile brain candy.
  • Use color, scent, music, art, etc for mood enhancement. Taste is not our only sense! Don’t neglect the others!
  • Take up an old hobby or join a group that does something you love.
  • Hang out with dogs, cats, children – whatever energizes you.
  • Challenge your body (within reason).
  • Dress well!
  • Don’t expect too much of yourself. We have been led to believe we should own more and accomplish more than is reasonable.
What do you do to get  your happy? It doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.
Filed Under: Food, Health, stress, weight loss Tagged With: , ,

The Truth about Silo Science and the Misinterpretation of Research

October 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Here’s the first part of this month’s UNCENSORED Podcasts Season 2.

Today’s topic: Silo Science.

What is Silo Science?

Silo science is focusing on one specific area of research without seeing how it affects other areas. In the case of diet and fitness it’s looking too closely at one spot without seeing the bigger picture and how all systems of the body are related. – John Barban

The real science is different from what you hear from media.

Silo science is like doing a research, but with your blinders on.

Why?

Because silo scientists are focusing only at one specific area and ignoring the rest. But as we know, your body functions as a whole system, so looking into what’s going on in one area and ignoring anything else is not very useful for us in real life.

However, this type of research is exactly what’s misused online. It’s gotten to a point where people are now confused about science and the human body.

The truth of the matter is you have to look at the bigger picture, you can’t take only what you like and ignore the rest.  Which is exactly what most the fitness marketers and journalists are doing.

No supplement does just one thing, there’s always more to the story.

Case in point, Ever took a pill and experienced side effects?

Every time you introduce something into your body there is always an equal and opposite reaction.

Most people understand this with drugs, but almost no one considers this possibility with supplements.

Not only do people who use silo science try to make a point about how the body works, they often leverage only the abstract or headlines of some papers to conform the research for their benefit.

You should especially be aware of the perfect answers about hormones you see online nowadays, because most people never bother looking at the whole picture, only the results you desire.

Today we are going to look at the reality of the research and it’s misinterpreted online and in fitness media.

In today’s UNCENSORED training, you will also discover:

  • How the mechanics of a study works and what we look at in the research
  • How the study gets funded and why it matters to you who funds it
  • Why everything you see online should be taken with a grain of salt
  • How many people actually participate in the study (less than you think) and how this affects the results of that study
  • How robust the studies actually are (not as much as the media would have you believe)
  • Anything that has a dose response will or can have side effects
  • The reality of people doing the whole gotcha with science argument and scare mongering you into buying new products that you don’t need
  • How to find out if people quoting studies really understand what they are saying or if they just read the abstract at pubmed

IMMERSION Clients May Login and Download Podcast Here

Not a Venus Index IMMERSION client? Click here to find out more… and hear a weird story too

Filed Under: Podcast, Uncensored Podcasts S02 Tagged With: , ,

When Is the Best Time to Work Out?

September 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

Here’s your new interview with one of the contestants from the 5th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Today John talks to  Teresa Shaner finished forth in the contest and earned herself a spot on Venus Index Calendar.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Teresa lost 13lbs and 2 inches off her waist!

While most people chose to submit their transformation pictures at the 20 week contest deadline, Teresa decided to take her pictures after only 12 weeks.

This decision has now motivated  Teresa to push through the full 20 week transformation.  She’s “All-In” and ready to take it to next level!

Prior to  this contest, Teresa had difficulty gaining momentum needed for her to finish a transformation contest.

One obstacle she and several mothers encountered is that once she had done everything for her kids, she had very little energy and time for herself.

However, as we’ve seen before with our previous Venus winners, if you want to take care of other people you need to take care of yourself first.

Teresa wanted to feel  better and live a healthier lifestyle. Having a history of family health issues made her even more determined to start focusing on this. She didn’t want be placed in that risk category as she grew older.

Before she would always try to do the workouts in the evenings, which has a lot of disadvantages.

She made the decision to perform her workouts and cardio in the the morning.

The turning point came one day when she woke up and wasn’t  feeling dizzy. She decided to do her workout early in the day, which was a brand new experience.

When she got home later that day she didn’t have the stress to push herself to do the workout, because she’s already done it.

Working out in the morning is not only beneficial in terms of more energy throughout the day, but it also removes the pressure to do the workout and eliminates the opportunity to skip the training.

The longer you wait to do the workout, the greater your chances are of not going.

After two weeks Teresa realized that working out in the morning was the best thing to do.

Why?

Because the last time she missed a workout was 4 weeks ago, and that way only because she was out the night before.

She thought she would end up with less energy, but the opposite came true.

 

Pick the Smartest Diet Approach for Successful Weight Loss

For the diet we usually don’t give any specific rules, just one rule – you gotta eat less calories than you burn in order to lose fat.

However, there are a few things that can help you with it.

One of those is making smarter choices that have fewer calories – fruits and vegetables. Especially vegetables are very dense and filling and have almost no calories at all and if you are a good cook you can make some tasty meals.

That’s what Teresa did, she chose a diet that consisted mostly of vegetables and lean protein rather than burgers and refined products.

There is really nothing wrong with eating “processed” stuff, but they aren’t volume food, they have a lot of calories and won’t satisfy a lot.

Food Is Just Like Alcohol, It Connects People…

In times past Teresa weighed 118 pounds, then she got married and had her first child.

She started getting away from the health and lean ideal and began to gain a couple of pounds.

She gained 69 pounds after her first child and never lost it all.

She also revealed to us that it was very uncomfortable and that there was a lot of pressure on the back.

After a second child she gained 72 pounds and again, never lost it all.

When she started the VI contest she was already dieting for the past 4 years, but just like she said, she was never truly focused on getting it off, she had some progress and then was stuck at 170 for a really long time.

The contest helped her focus, she had a deadline to shoot for, it’s more serious when you take pictures, and compete. It’s no longer just dieting for the sake of dieting and maybe losing some weight, this is why our contestants are more successful with Venus program and contest than they have ever been before.

Before the contest Teresa understood the concept of calories, but would always give up and was yo-yo dieting for most of her life.

Sadly, this is a recurring theme, without a goal and a deadline it’s just really hard to lose fat and especially if you want to do it as painlessly as possible like our Venuses’.

Also if you are in the community and are listening to the interviews you can learn from the mistakes and experience of other Venuses’.

Teresa admitted that the desire to eat was sometimes really strong, almost like it wasn’t her, almost like she was possessed.

She’s correct… The drive to eat is really strong so it’s hard (but not impossible if you know how) to actively restrict yourself for any length of time, there is a lot so structure that needs to be in place.

It’s important to note that food connects people. Food is involved in almost any type of social gathering or event. It’s part of our culture, part of our lives, and it always will be.

Trying to diet is almost like saying you are going to socially disconnect.

Dieting is already difficult and to socially disconnect from others makes it even harder. This is why Teresa decided to follow the Anything Goes Diet principles and enjoy all the social life.

More tips from Teresa:

  • Get an iPod and create a good music list, it may seem non-important, but music really helps with training, especially if you are not feeling like working out that day
  • I can’t believe I didn’t started before, start now you will regret it if you don’t
  • Morning workouts are awesome, you will have more energy, there won’t be any pressure throughout a day and no one will be bothering you, because everyone will be still sleeping
  • If it was easy everyone would do it, there is no magical formula to it
  • Shift your schedule, do whatever it takes, just make that hour for the workout. If it’s the first thing in the morning you won’t have worry about get putting it done.

Links from the interview:

  • Venus Index Phase 1 and Phase 2 – Original Venus Index workouts
  • Anything Goes Diet – Diet that lets you eat the foods you like
  • Eat Stop Eat – Diet Lifestyle protocol designed to help you to lose fat and regain freedom in your food choices
  • Reverse Taper Diet – Stop with the yo-yo dieting once and for all

Read what Teresa wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

I am a wife of 14½ years to my high school sweetheart and a mother of two active boys ages 10 and 14. At the age of 35, a history of health issues incurred by my mother and siblings made me realize I needed to get… Continue reading here

Listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: change, Contest, Interview, Podcast, transformation Tagged With: , ,

Falling Forward: Turning Mistakes into Success

September 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer. -Denis Waitley

The hardest part about mistakes is to keep moving forward but that is what you must do.  Everyone makes mistakes but if you keep moving forward the mistake will soon be behind you.  Have you ever made a mistake at a new job?

I currently work as a volunteer patrol deputy for our local Sheriff’s department.  I had spent 25 years prior working for a corporate high tech company and then decided to go through the police academy and volunteer for the community in a unique way.

The environment at a law enforcement agency is vastly different from the corporate company I was used to.  Yes, I made mistakes.  It’s hard on the ego when you get called on the pad and into the Lieutenant’s office.  Part of me wanted to quit and say this is just not for me.  But when you keep moving forward you can sometimes become better for having made the mistake.  The best thing to do is own up to it and face whatever consequences come with it and continue to do your best.

Because of what I learned from that mistake I’m now in a position to help coach others on how to avoid that particular mistake should the opportunity arise.  Can you think of ways that you became better because of mistakes you have made?

As I lost 60 pounds I chose to move forward even when I made mistakes at work as well as on my weight loss journey.

The Sheriff gives a speech every year at our official swearing in ceremony.  Because consequences can be severe for mistakes made in law enforcement he always talks about the concept of owning up to mistakes and moving on.  He has an awesome sense of humor and a fun personality, but he shows us his serious side when he talks about consequences in our work mistakes.

The other option is to stop, freeze, or quit.  If you stop moving forward and are worried about making more mistakes you will never progress.  Every successful person has made mistakes and know they will make mistakes again.  They don’t live in fear of mistakes.

My friend April and I share some of the exact same mistakes regarding motherhood.  Sometimes this gives us a special bond with a friend and helps us deal with residual guilt and healing.  For women especially there is a certain amount of guilt we all feel about not being perfect mothers for our kids.   Whether it is simply a matter of raising the children, sharing custody, adoption, congenital medical issues or children’s health issues, whatever is the circumstance these all cause very deep emotional issues for women.

Because of what happened in April’s situation she lost a lot of weight and became very thin, then did the yo-yo in the opposite direction and gained a lot of weight and started down the path of an emotional eating disorder.

April believes that the reeling torment on the inside was being reflected on the outside (manifested in her yo-yo body weight), and that she was punishing herself for the guilt she felt.

April finally decided to take a step forward when she joined the Venus Index Community.  She owned up to her mistakes with eating along with the other mistakes.  She allowed herself to be accepted into a community of women who understood and treated her warmly and with respect.  April said this has helped her get her body right and get through some rough times.  This is helping her get her mind right as well. April learned that sometimes getting support means you have to give it order to get it.

April wants to learn to forgive herself for not being perfect for her son.  She shares a unique story where she is the birth mother and she shares a special bond with Rebecca Bennett.  April wants to be a Venus both inside and out.  I think she is well on her way and moving forward now.

As we start out on our weight loss journey full of hope, new tools, new books to read, and new workouts we must remember to forgive ourselves from the mistakes that we will make.  We must learn to keep moving forward, or falling forward, or leaping forward, anything but staying frozen in fear of mistakes.

Whether the mistakes are at a job or school, or on your weight loss journey you can move forward and learn to overcome adversity.   Do you have trouble getting over a sabotage point; have anxiety with food choices, or food addictions?  These can all be overcome; you can learn a new way to eat regardless of your situation.  Are you afraid of the gym or are you afraid to lift heavy?  This too can be overcome with a winning mindset.

 

April chooses to leap forward from her mistakes. You can make this choice too.

What about you? Will you learn from your mistakes and keep moving, or will you let mistakes control you?

It is your choice.

-Ro

Filed Under: change, Diet, Exercise, Food, Health, Shape, stress, Uncategorized, weight loss Tagged With: , ,

Eat for “Flavor” & The 6 Step Recovery Method from Orthorexia

September 19, 2012 by 2 Comments

Here’s the second part of this month’s UNCENSORED Podcasts Season 2 on Orthorexia.

Check out the first part here: The Side Effect of Modern Society and Even Scientists Can’t Escape

What we covered in the first part:

  • We’ve talked about how certain foods can completely mess up your personality and social identity
  • You learned why people in the fitness industry feel superiority over you because of their diet choices
  • You discovered why you should bother tracking and testing things related to nutrition and not just training
  • You learned about the connection between people suffering from orthorexia and drug addicts
  • You also discovered what’s really in the root of the search for healthy eating and if that goal is really achievable
  • You learned that orthorexia is a marketing driven eating disorder and that the food and fitness industry are making billions just from people getting fatter every year

Let Go of the Good Food/Bad Food Belief

You need to learn to let go of the good food, bad food belief and dump all the bad food lists. And instead start focusing on the foods that taste good, are filling and make you feel great.

It’s a mind shit and a whole different perception, especially if you have been exposed to the mainstream fitness media for the last couple of decades.

Ask yourself this question: ” What do I like to eat?” And eat exactly that!

A lot of people will be thinking that this statement means you can eat burgers and ice cream all day long. Well, that’s not true. Nobody can do go on a diet like that and that’s a pretty boring lifestyle to have.

There are lots of food choices, if chicken with broccoli and chocolate with ice cream are the only meals you know you are limiting yourself and preventing yourself from tasting some amazing foods that are also rich in nutrients.

Get a variety in your diet and start experimenting with different cuisines. Just ask yourself, what exotic meal you haven’t tried yet?

Believe it or not, there are other foods and meals outside the “healthy” recommended by fitness media and “unhealthy junk food” like chocolate or burgers. There are a lot of other options and they can be very tasty.

Today John Barban and Brad Pilon will show you how to switch  from good/bad thinking into “eating what I really like and what makes me feel good” and “what would be the best and most tasty option for me?“.

If you’ve heard the first podcast and you’ve read so far then you understand what’s the point of it, but you may still be unsure of the whole process, so before you listen to today’s episode where John and Brad discuss this in great detail, let’s look over the steps you can take to recover from Orthorexia and start eating for flavor:

  1. Realize that any health message is a marketing message
  2. Understand that you won’t cheat death, and especially not by choosing different foods
  3. Create new food lists, but assign them different meanings (e.g. rank them by flavor)
  4. Make a list of foods that makes you bloated or that you are allergic to
  5. Evaluate every food on those lists based on how much you enjoy it, how many calories it contains etc.
  6. [you will have to listen to the interview for this one :)]
There is a lot of choice outside the traditional healthy and unhealthy lists AKA good foods/bad foods. European and Asian cuisines are very rich in different flavors and tastes, just start experimenting. Today we are going to give you the permission to do that and explain you why it’s beneficial and how to go about it.
Filed Under: Diet, fat loss, Food, Health, Podcast, psychology, Uncensored Podcasts S02 Tagged With: , ,

Can There Be a Simple Way to Lose 100 Pounds?

September 17, 2012 by 2 Comments

Here’s your new interview with one of the contestants from the 5th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Today John talks to  Suzy Johnston who finished third in the contest and earned herself a spot on Venus Index Calendar.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Suzy’s results from the mid-term contest.

What’s even more amazing is Suzy’s overall transformation with Venus Index.

Check out her whole progress pictures here:

Suzy’s whole progress.

Suzy started at 240 pounds (she is 5’7”) and gradually over 16 months she lost exactly 100 pounds.

Very impressive results!

It’s always interesting to hear where it all started, what was the trigger point for gaining weight, because truth to be told no one is born overweight, there is always something external that trigger’s overeating and thus weight gain.

For Suzy it was moving away from her sister. No one was looking over her shoulder, she could eat fast food all the time and binge on it whenever she wanted.

Some days, it got really bad.

One day Suzy decided to buy a scale and was in shock once she saw that she weighed 240 pounds. This was a turning point for her and she made the DECISION TO CHANGE.

She began educating herself about fitness and searched online for weight-loss solutions.

However, she had trouble finding the truth.  It was hard to distinguish who was right and who was wrong, everybody seemed to contradict one another.

Nevertheless, Suzy decided to keep it simple. She started running, lifting weights and eating less.

She found success in her approach for weight loss but was completely blown when away she discovered the Venus Index and the concept of  “body metrics.”

It was at this point Suzy realized that it’s more important to focus on her “ideal” Venus metrics rather than her weight.

 

Losing Weight Is an Incomplete Goal

Is just losing the weight the ultimate goal?

You need to think about where you want to be and what you are going to do once you achieve your desired goal.

You will always need some kind of goal to keep pushing you forward, otherwise you will stagnate with your progress or even worse, revert back to your old self – this is what’s called yo-yo dieting.

So what is your goal? What will you do once you cross the finish line?

Sad yet true, most people who lose weight can’t keep it off, they go back to their old self and gain it all back.

Figure out your goals in advance and you won’t lose momentum.

 

Expect People’s Negative Reactions and Keep It to Yourself

Be aware that some people treat nutrition as if it were a religion, so it’s better to add this topic to your “do not discuss” list.

Some people will label their fitness approach, believe it to be the  “best and only” way and then identify themselves with it – e.g. Paleo people.

Not only do they think they know better, but they also don’t believe that it’s possible for it to be simple and done without suffering.

They will argue with you that it’s very complex, and you have to forego  eating foods you like.

However, once you get in shape and are the road to improvement they will try to stop you.

Now  they will question why you want to lose more fat and accuse you of being obsessive-compulsive.

Save yourself the hassle and choose wisely who you share your fitness goals with.  Many Venus Lifestyle  followers choose this “undercover” approach.

Suzy finally achieved a healthy body weight and is happy with the amazing progress she has made. For her, it’s just further improvement and she’s already taking it to the next level. What about you?

Links from the interview:

  • Eat Stop Eat – Diet Lifestyle protocol designed to help you to lose fat and regain freedom in your food choices
  • Original Venus Index Workout – Workout program for women that’s responsible for the most amazing transformations online
  • Venus Index Community – Friendliest and most supportive women’s only fitness community on the Internet

Advice from Suzy to someone who has 100 pounds to go:

  • Don’t wait, I wish I would have started earlier (and started with Venus Index earlier as well)
  • It can be simple, if you make it that way
  • Figure out how many calories you need and go from there
  • For some girls in the forum, it will take more patience  because you have farther to go, so prepare yourself for that
  • Better late than never, the time to start is right now

Read what Suzy wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

In May 2011, I looked down at my newly-purchased scale and saw a frightening number staring back at me: 240 lbs. I had been a yo-yo dieter since high school, with many more ups than downs on the scale, but the shock that number sent through my system was the impetus I needed to commit to working towards being the best me that I can possibly be. I took the…Continue reading here

Listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: change, Contest, Interview, Podcast, transformation Tagged With: , ,

Say NO to Yo-Yo Diets and Dump Fat Clothes For Good

September 10, 2012 by 2 Comments

Here’s your new interview with one of the contestants from the 5th Venus Index Transformation Contest.

Today John talks to Liss Graham who finished second in the contest and earned herself a spot on Venus Index Calendar.

Check out her transformation pictures from the 12 Week Contest:

Say “no” to yo-yo diets with the Venus Index.

When Liss pulled out the pictures on her PC she couldn’t believe this was really her and her husband had a pretty similar reaction.

The Day-to-day changes are almost unnoticeable and when you look at yourself in the mirror you usually see only the flaws.

When looking at the pictures though you can be more objective and if you have both before and after photos than you can truly see your progress not the skewed version in a mirror.

…And don’t worry about getting good pictures.

Liss took some advice from her friend Alisha (previous VI winner) from the VI community about taking pictures and setting up lights.

She went through a couple magazines, pinned a couple pictures, set up a mirror, her sister in law helped her with the lighting and taking pictures. Then she got babysitting for the evening, took a couple pictures for each pose and that was it, nothing complicated.

Here is one more picture from the shoot:

Liss, one of the recent Venus winners.

Liss always felt like a giant kid. She told us that compared to other girls she wasn’t that tiny and cute like others, she was big and a bit overweight for her age. She didn’t feel pretty.

In her freshmen year she weighed 140 pounds.

She started playing tennis and lifting weights, but throughout the years her weight often fluctuated up and down, which was quite exhausting.

She would work hard  to lose the weight, only to relapse and gain it right back.

She was a victim of what’s called the “yo-yo diet”.

It was because her diet was very low in calories and highly restrictive – high protein, low carb and only certain food.

This type of diet wasn’t sustainable so she would fall off here and there often resulting in binging.

It All Starts with the Decision to Get Better

Liss decided to make a change.

She began first by researching how much celebrities weigh;  she looked up Julia Roberts and a few others.

It was here when she realized that while those women are lean and in shape it’s not what you would call the “ideal” shape for women.  Nevertheless,  she began searching for more of a  “fitness look“.

This search is what ultimately lead her to the Venus Index.

VI offered her a set of metrics, a goal to shoot for–an  ideal shape, all while being able to measure the progress without having to do a fancy DEXA analysis every month just to know if she was on track.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt Liss was happy to have found Venus Index!

She could go to all the social eating events, throw away the “fat clothes” and put an end to the crappy approach of yo-yo dieting.

If she didn’t feel like working out, her kids would constantly ask her if she was going to the gym or her friends would text her asking where she is – her accountability to fitness was at the highest it had ever been, which set her up for success.

Having these systems in place, a proven workout program, and help from the VI community she was destined to succeed and she did, just scroll back up and look at the pictures.

Now, if you wanna hear more about her journey, psychological barriers she had to overcome, what worked for her and what didn’t, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and hit the play button to listen to the interview.

Tips from Liss:

  • Track your strength and try to improve every time you hit the gym, even if it’s just for one more rep
  • Don’t argue with people about it, if they wanna know what you are doing
  • I post every little chart, weight, and measurements on my blog in the community
  • When you finally get fit everything becomes so much easier 
  • Avoid destructive behavior patterns, one thing leads into other – couch potato, bad food, no workout, no results
  • Remember to encourage yourself, embrace the support from those you trust
  • Before this contest I chose to set weight goals and I focused on things I could control – how many workouts, how many calories a week
  • You can’t control the rate you lose weight at
  • The body changes slower than the mind, patience is important – The good things come to those who wait
  • Listen to every VI (if possible AI) podcast in the archive for example when driving to work or whatever and make notes and try every advice

Read what Liss wrote about her experience with Venus Index:

7 short months ago, I was sick of rebounding again after all the effort I had put into losing weight, AGAIN, in 2011. You see, in January of 2011, I was at one of my highest weights in my life, 185. I worked really hard to diet and work out through…Continue reading here

Listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: change, Contest, Interview, Podcast, transformation Tagged With: , , ,
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